custombioniclefandomcom-20200214-history
Protector's Dawn
Protector's Dawn is a story set in the Sentinels Alternate Universe. It takes place shortly before the second attack of the Kanohi Dragon of Metru Nui, and it revolves around the Ba-Matoran Tusval as he learns to be a Toa. Story Prologue Screams... Shouts... Smoke... Chaos. Toa Calorrid knew he was going to die, but he had already resigned himself to his fate. The beings he was dealing with never left Toa alive if they could help it. It was a good thing he had already killed the last of them before he became too weakened. But before he went... He staggered over to a stone garden that had probably once had looked nice, and dropped to his knees, his wounds sapping his strength rapidly. He weakly placed his hand into the stones and focused in his final moments to imbue them with his Toa Power, barely noticing the few Matoran who were watching from a distance. He had barely finished when his limbs gave out, and the world blurred before him. Calorrid vaguely thought, at least the village is safe... before his consciousness drifted away Chapter 1 Tusval looked around his dwelling. It was mostly unscathed, but that wasn't necessarily good. He didn't have much to break. More needier Matoran deserved his luck more than he did. The whole village had been nearly decimated in last nights attack. Most of the buildings were only ruins now. He always hated being able to do so very little to defeat their attackers. If only there was a permanent Toa in their village He sighed, and stepped outside. Shreds of smoke glided through the air, and the ground was matted with soot. The Turaga had called a meeting in the towns center, where the Suva was located. It probably had something to do with that Toa that defended the village last night. The walk was uneventful, and when he arrived, a crowd had gathered, and the Turaga was already speaking. That fellow always did enjoy giving speeches. "...and so, My dear villagers... It fills me with great sadness to inform you that the brave Toa Calorrid has indeed died from heroically defending our village..." Tusval yawned as he waited for him to get to the point. "However, I also bring good news. He left behind a valuable object before he left us." He paused for effect. "... A Toa stone." There were murmurs from a few of the Matoran in the crowd. When they had quieted down, he continued. "And I have also been informed one you is destined to be transformed..." A thought occurred to Tusval. How did he know that? Did no one else think to question the Turaga? The Matoran stayed silent, waiting for the person to be revealed. "That person is... Tusval" Tusval choked on his own spit. There was a stirring all across the crowd as heads turned to look at Tusval, who most people knew. He could only stand there, stunned. Was it a coincidence the only Ba-Matoran in the village was the one chosen? The Turaga smiled and gestured for him to come up to the Suva, like it was a big honor or something. Tusval twitched in alarm. Here? Now? Didn't he get a choice? Couldn't he at least wait a bit? His fellow villagers started pushing him up, and his legs took over, leading him up to where the Suva was located. The Turaga pulled a glowing, oblong stone out from a pouch and handed it to Tusval when he got close enough. This was all happening too fast. A niche on the Suva itself started pulsating with a mesmerizing light as he approached, only confirming that this was actually going to happen. The other Matoran waited expectantly as he reached up to the niche, closed his eyes, and gingerly slipped the stone Inside. He couldn't believe this was actually real. Tusval grunted as the dormant Toa energy within his body was ignited, filling him with energizing power and making his limbs painfully stretch to their full length, glowing as they did so. The sensation wasn't agonizing, just uncomfortable. He saw himself growing, growing, growing far above the beings who, mere seconds ago, were just like him. His limbs were stronger, and he felt like he could climb a mountain. He probably could now, actually. Tusval stretched his back shakily, and then looked down at his new form. "Somehow.." He said "I thought silver would look better on me" ***** Tusval stared down at the Turaga. "What do you mean, I have to leave?"They were standing in the middle of Tusval's home, which was now too small to be of any use to him. "What I mean, Tusval, Is that you have been formally summoned. By other Toa. We received a message late last night." Tusval frowned under his Kanohi Komau. "Oh. But... when do I leave? " "Well..." The Turaga trailed off, awkwardly looking around Tusval's empty dwelling. "Gotcha." Tusval said, taking the Turaga's point. There was nothing to slow him down. And so Tusval came to be standing just outside the small villages borders, holding a map. The Turaga said there would be a Toa coming to escort me.... At a village called Su-Koro... So I guess there isn't any reason to delay And he was off. The journey was uneventful, and the scenery was flat and dull so it was a relief when the outskirts of the town came into view. Tusval was reminded of his old home, the one he had so vigorously helped to create. He could see small, orange and white armored beings scurrying around, doing their jobs. Tusval scanned around for the Toa that was supposed to be escorting him. Then he spotted a Toa standing in the center of the Main road, arms folded, looking straight at Tusval. He slowly made his way up to the Toa, and to his surprise, the Toa was female, but was wearing white armor, with undertones of blue. She radiated an air of superiority, and wore an unfamiliar mask. Tusval stared for a second, and then said, "Are you a Toa of Ice?" Tusval was usually relatively knowledgeable about these things, but he wanted to be sure.She looked affronted, and sniffed. "Hardly. It's Lightning." "What is?" She gave him her best are-you-stupid glare."I'm. A Toa. Of Lightning."Tusval wondered if this was what being a Toa made you like. "So..." He ventured "Are you my guide?"She sniffed and replied, "Maybe" Tusval ground his teeth. He'd take that as a yes, then. He already regretted asking for clarification. "So let's go, then" Her only response was to say "fine" and stalk away. Tusval sighed, and decided to follow. Why would they send such a snippy guide? Great first impression. He jogged to catch up, and asked her name. "Zasére" "Why are you being like that?" She glanced at him, and said, "I'm going to be honest here. I didn't want to come and get you. There are better things for me to be doing." Tusval was about to ask what those things were, but before he could, he spotted a giant insectoid Rahi he Identified as a Nui Rama. Zasére soon saw it too. "Mata Nui..." She muttered "Not Again..." Apparently this had happened before. Ah, the life of a Toa at its finest. She wearily pulled a strangely angled sword off of her back, and settled in a defensive pose. Tusval didn't know what to do, so he just mimicked Zasére. She could only spare a smirk before the giant bug was upon them.Zasére stabbed forward in a practiced way, but the Nui Rama darted upwards with surprising speed, and circled around to the side. It zoomed forward, and she chopped one of its wings off in a single deft motion. The bug immediately crashed to the ground, and Zasére impaled it in the blink of an eye, killing it. The fight lasted only a ridiculous five seconds. Almost not even worth the time.The Exina-wearer wiped her blade on the ground, and replaced it onto her back without a word, like she did it every day. She probably did. He probably would have to as well. Gah. Tusval stared, and then followed after she stalked away. **** Tusval stared at the heels of his Toa escort and wondered where in Mata Nui's name he was going. And then he nearly crashed into Zasére before he had noticed she had stopped. He looked up. They were at the ocean, and in front of them was a small streamlined boat. He glanced at Zasére and she gestured towards the boat. "Get in." Tusval had some experience traveling the waters, but he hadn't done so for centuries. Then they were zooming across the waves, the boat (Tusval decided it was a skiff) bobbing slightly in tune with the water. The spray of the waves was nice, and Zasére, at the controls, made little attempt at conversation. Tusval wondered how the rest of his life would play out. Where was he traveling to? What was expected of him as a Toa? He couldn't help but feel a ache of dread enter his muscles at the thought of what would come. What the Karzahni did Toa even Do all day? There surely can't be that many threats to the whole world. Bleargh. Why was he, of all people chosen for this? Tusval needed to rest his mind. ***** Tusval awoke via a punch to the shoulder. "Hey. Wake up, we're here." Tusval opened one eye to see Zasére standing in front of him, glaring sullenly. "I know you're awake. Get up." Tusval quickly shoved himself up to quell her pestering. They both stepped off the skiff and onto solid ground. The first thing Tusval noticed was the Monolithic fortress that stood out for miles as the only thing taller than a rock. The second thing he noticed was the craters surrounding the area. "Hey, uh...." Tusval ventured "What's the deal with this place?" Zasére smiled smugly at his naivety and explained. "It's the Toa fortress. It was originally made to guard a relic called the Makoki stone. But the stone was moved elsewhere after a couple Dark Hunters tried to steal it, and almost got away with it. Now it's just a home base of sorts for all Toa." "And the craters?" Tusval asked "The craters used to be Frostelus encampments, until the Frostelus started getting too hostile. Then Toa Lesovikk and what's left of his team helped drive them off." Tusval nodded to indicate he was finished asking questions, and Zasére led the way up to the door. She gave a Toa guard at the gate a small object, and he examined it before opening the gates to let them pass. As he followed Zasére in, he noticed the sheer number and diversity of all the Toa there. There was a hulking ice Toa chatting with a slender, silver-Armored Ga-Toa. An aquatic looking Toa of Fire strolled past as they approached a Suletu-Wearing Toa of Plasma. The Su-Toa walked forward to meet them. He was heavily armored, bulky and looked somewhat worn down. He held himself uprightly and carried an air of authority about him. Zasére veered away as soon as he got close."Greetings!" The Toa grinned "My name's Theac. I welcome you to the fortress! And don't mind Zasére, she's usually always like that." Tusval wondered if this guys always talked like that and responded with an awkward "Er... okay. Thanks" If Theac noticed Tusval's anxiousness, he didn't comment on it."Come with me, I'll show you around. It'll give you an... Orientation, of sorts." ***** Tusval couldn't believe all the stuff he was going to have to learn. Kanohi powers, elemental powers, weapon training, Kanohi collecting. He never knew being a Toa required knowing all this! Being a Toa was only getting worse than he had anticipated. "So..." said Theac helpfully "Do you have any questions for me?" Tusval almost laughed, but instead he just replied that no, no he didn't. "Okay..." Theac, like he knew what Tusval was thinking. Except that he probably did, having a Suletu and all. "Alright. So now there is only one thing left to attend to. Since Toa Calorrid is gone, the members of his old team wanted to have you join them. Not to sound callous, but they do have a vacancy now. How does that sound to you?" Theac was so to-the-point is was almost annoying. "It sounds.. Great. But... How does it... That work, exactly?" Theac gestured to come down the hallway. "It's not hard. Come on, I'll show you." Tusval followed. They traversed a network of silvery passageways interspaced with lightstones until they reached a room with a colored emblem atop the doorway. Theac entered the room and after hesitating slightly, Tusval went in after him. The center of the room was dominated by a large, metal table, equipped with various tools and carvings. Looking around, Tusval noted the room was relatively decently sized. Around the room were several Toa, either lounging around or occupied with some type of task. He went over to where Theac was standing, next to an attractive female Toa of Plantlife. "So Calorrid is really gone?" The female Bo-Toa inquired as Tusval approached. Tusval nodded, but Theac interjected, saying "Hey, we don't need to go into the grisly details just yet, you two just met!" "Hm." The blue and green clad Toa shrugged "This is Luoya" Theac explained "She's a member of Calorrid's team, and the deputy" Tusval nodded affirmatively. "Luoya will do things like show you around, answer your questions, and introduce you." Theac looked around. "I have to go now, but I'll leave it up to Luoya to introduce you to your teammates." He strode out of the room, and Tusval turned to Luoya expectantly. "All right." She eyed Tusval as she spoke. "This right here is the headquarters for our team. We can rest, plan, or eat here, whatever." She pivoted towards a silver armored De-Toa skimming information on a stone tablet, tapping his foot as he did so.She pointed at him and said "That's Oto, he's a Toa of Sonics" She spun again and pointed to a Gold-clad Toa lounging on a bench. "His name is Orokul, the leader of the team" The Toa glanced at them, but then looked away and continued to ignore them. Luoya then turned to Tusval. "There are two other Toa on the team as well. One's named Vahna, she's a Toa of light, and the other's name is Zasére." Tusval started, surprised. "You know her?" Tusval scratched his head. "Yeah, she's the one who brought me here." Luoya looked down and chuckled. "Bet she hated that." "Mm, yeah."There was a moment of silence before Luoya spoke again. "Well I guess that's all you should know for now. It's getting dark, so If you need to rest, you can, or you can explore or whatever." Tusval nodded, then turned away and left the room. Chapter 2 The morning skies were dark and thick with rain. The sky rumbled and boomed, threatening to send lightning to strike the ground. The rain battered the ground like a herd of Kikanalo. Tusval turned away from the small window. He would be facing his combat trainer again. He had been here for only a few short months, but she had always hated him, and he couldn’t figure out why. She rarely spoke to him, and it just seemed to be natural for her to hate him. He always dreaded having to face her unwarranted displeasure, to be met only with a stony indifference. Out of the four Toa he had met, half hated him. Of course, it was probably his fault for never talking to anybody. He had never been ostracized, and he felt very comfortable with the routine of this giant fortress. Sadly, he rarely got to know people he wasn’t involved with. Tusval supposed he should probably head down to the field where he trained with Mareela. He was fully aware that the rain would only give her one more weapon to utilize against him, but he didn’t care right now. After trudging through the hallways of the fortress, he came outside and saw Mareela standing in the same place she always did when training him. Center of the field, arms crossed. She never moved to a different place. Without saying anything, Mareela pulled out her long handled mace, and began to run her fingers over it's spikes, watching Tusval. Groaning internally, he pulled out his own weapon, a scythe, into existence by means of the ability Toa had to do so. Not needing words, Tusval and Mareela squared up against each other, ready to fight. They always fought with minimal restrictions. Kanohi, elemental powers, weapons, anything goes. Just doesn’t maim or kill your opponent. Tusval used his gravity powers to put a thin field around his body repelling anything that got within an inch of his armor. He had learned the hard way that Mareela would use the rain to coat his body in ice and immobilize him. He was able to learn some things, at least Mareela darted to his left, where his cumbersome weapon would be difficult to swing. He spun, and met her mace with a resounding clang. Mareela withdrew, and Tusval noticed he was muttering under her breath- starting to program a power into her Mask of Conjuring. She had proven to be quite adept when it came to concealing her choice of power. Likely she had been using that mask since she became a Toa. They began to circle each other again. Tusval nerves were already stretched, as they usually were during battle, so when she began feinting at him, he struck out reflexively. She deflected his blow of the side of her mace, and used his momentum to trip him. He rolled to the side, but no weapon came crashing down on top of him. He looked over to see Mareela’s mask glowing. She had finished programming her mask. She began running towards him and leaped. Tusval turned around to meet her… But was knocked down by the impact of Mareela coming down on his head. He was forced into the mud and his Kanohi was knocked askew. He activated his gravity powers to make them both rise up into in the air. To his side, he saw water droplets being caught in his gravitational field, noting this unnecessary detail. He hadn’t gained enough finesse to move things close together separately. He shoved Mareela away from him, and let them both drop to the ground. He had a surprising ease using his powers, unusual for a brand-new Toa. She backpedaled rapidly, and appeared to be wary, but just as quickly, thrust her hand upwards, and with it came a surge of water, drying the rain-soaked ground temporarily. The jet of water slammed into Tusval's face, and he staggered backwards, trying to regain his balance. Mareela used this and dashed forwards, bashing him with her mace. Hard. This infuriated Tusval. Toa could withstand a lot of punishment, but it didn’t mean they were immune to pain. Mareela stalked forward, confident that he had been defeated and her victory was assured. That was how their fights usually ended. Well Tusval wasn’t ready to give up today. He felt himself being filled with a defiant passion As his trainer approached, he bided his time, acting dazed, and then… WHAM He leapt forward and swiped at Mareela with all his might. To his surprise, she was knocked backwards a couple Bio. Tusval lifted himself up and staggered towards her. She looked at Tusval, stunned, and cradling her side. He lifted himself up, and noticed his hand. It was covered in shining claws that looked like they were made of Peradion. They looked like extensions of his own hand, and as he watched, shocked, the claws began to decay into wisps of purple energy. He turned back to Mareela, where she lifted her arm to reveal four violet streaks. They could only stand there in the pouring rain, staring at each other. ***** Tusval wondered what they would do to him. He had been sitting here for ages, confined because of those weird claws that had sprung out of his fingertips unsolicited. He had been sitting in his Toa Team’s room, confined there while the more experienced Toa decided what to do with him. He felt strangely detached from the whole situation, as if he were watching it happen to someone else. This is ridiculous, He thought, I am ''not some Matoran who needs to be chastised.'' He stood up, determined to get some answers, when the door serendipitously slid open. It was a group of Toa, some of whom Tusval recognized, and others that he didn’t. Among them were Theac, Luoya and Mareela. Theac apologetically said “I’m sorry Tusval, but we need to ask some questions about what just happened. To make sense of it all.” Tusval indicated they continue, and the interview commenced. Did you feel any different today? Did you do that on purpose? Have you seen this happen before? Tusval answered no to all their inquiries. He honestly did not know what was happening. He saw some of the Toa looked suspicious of his answers, particularly Mareela. She probably wanted to punish him for what he did. Did anything unusual happen right before you hit Mareela? This question gave him pause. The only unusual thing that had happened was that he felt a particularly strong feeling of passion, and he informed them likewise. He expected a more dramatic reaction, But Theac just stood up, and spoke. “Well, Tusval, Thanks for your time and answers. I guess this is just as new to you as it is to us. Nobody has any Idea how this all came to pass. Hopefully we’ll figure this out.” Tusval nodded affirmatively. Theac waved his hand, and most of the members of the group they had formed dispersed. All except Luoya. She hadn’t really participated in questioning him, and was evidently just there as a representative of hers and Tusval's team. She sat down across from him. “Hi Tusval” She ventured. “Hey” Tusval didn’t know what else to say. She continued “I just wanted to let you know that I sympathize with you. It can’t be easy being interrogated about something you don’t know about. I’m here for you, if you need anything.” Something dawned on Tusval. “Actually…” He said. “There is something you can help me with.” Luoya widened her eyes, motioning for him to go on. “You know my combat trainer, Mareela?” She nodded. “Well, she always seems to be angry and distant towards me. But I have no idea why. Do you.. maybe know why exactly?” The Toa of Plantlife started, before saying “Oh! I had never thought about this before. I had no idea she was angry.” She paused and considered a while, putting her hand on her cheek. “It might be that… well, she has experienced a lot of hardship, what with her friend Calorrid dying, and she's probably just not in a good mood” She looked at Tusval apologetically. “I don’t know if that’s actually why though. I was just guessing. I'm not exactly an expert.” Tusval replied that it was okay, and let the matter rest. They sat in silence for some time. ***** Tusval jogged up to his team’s room. He had just gotten word there was some sort of urgent matter involving them. When he got to the room, he found the members of the team there, including the two Toa who were rarely around, Vahna and of course Zasere. They were discussing something. Orokul noticed him first and waved his hand to indicate Tusval should come closer. They were in the middle of discussing a couple of rogue Toa they had evidently been pursuing. Tusval hadn’t heard of anything of this matter, so it was odd to hear this had been discussed for a while. They were about to go and interrupt a meeting of some sort. Tusval only understood snatches of their rapid conversation, broad goals mentioned multiple times. They all began to disperse from the table around which they had been gathered, and formed a group around Orokul, whose mask had begun to glow and shift with energy. It then projected a swirling vortex of a portal, going on for what seemed like infinity. Tusval had just gotten here. What was going on?! One by one, the Toa leapt through the portal, until only Orokul and Tusval were left. Orokul offered only a brief explanation “Sorry this has been going so fast. We’ll explain when we get there.” With that, Tusval dived into the portal. Everything was a swirling mass of blue light, and then… Tusval was standing in the middle of a massive city, just like that. They were located in the middle of a dusty field, littered with broken sculptures. It was somewhat isolated, and looked kind of like a scrapyard, it was so messy and crowded. The other members of the team already there stood there, talking or just waiting. Tusval made eye contact with Zasere, and she gave him the evil eye before looking away. Orokul popped into existence right next to Tusval. He began speaking immediately “Alrighty, so since we’ve got a ways to walk from our landing point, I’ll explain things a bit, Tusval.” He waved his hand forward at his team, and they started running. Orokul began explaining things to Tusval. “Okay, so, this must be weird for you, being shoved into this as a rookie Toa.” He looked over at Tusval “I know the feeling.” He continued “And you’d be right if you thought this wasn’t normal. Most Toa teams stay in one area, helping people there. In fact, that was what I used to do on my old team. But since we are at the fortress, we have a choice of which Toa we can send. Namely, us, because of my mask” He winked and tapped the side of his Kanohi Olmak. Tusval nodded. It made sense. “Oh, right and the mission. There are two Toa we have received reports of, that have been committing some crimes, and are meeting sometime in the next few minutes.” “Speaking of which, we’re almost there. Stay with me.” He raised his voice slightly “ The rest of you, surround the house!” His team complied, and Tusval followed Orokul to the front of the house. They listened at the door, hearing small murmurs. Before he knew what was happening, Orokul had burst into the house and was charging at the occupants. Tusval swiftly followed to see a white and blue armored Toa standing ready, with her weapon extended and a yellow and black Toa jumping off their chairs and pulling out a weapon. Several other members of the team were simultaneously coming into the building and surrounding the Toa. Unfortunately, it looked as though they were not ready to go down without a fight. The Blue armored Toa let out a stream of electricity from her hand, almost as sson as they came in and several of Tusval’s team (Oto and Vahna) had to jump aside. The Toa of stone followed up with a crushing blow of his hammer direct at Tusval, but before he could react, a sheet of metallic protodermis from the table flew up and absorbed the blow. Tusval glanced to his side to see Orokul. “Thank me later” He grinned Two factions of the team began separate battles against the two Toa. Tusval, Vahna and Orokul faced off against the yellow armored Toa, evidently a Toa of stone, while Tusval presumed the other members of his team battled the Toa of Lightning. Orokul began with a swipe of his sword, deflected by their opponents hammer. The Toa dodged and countered with a kick, then swung his hammer at Vahna. She started to use her elemental light powers, but had her weapon knocked out of her hand, disrupting her. Tusval used the opportunity to attack in tandem with Orokul, but the Po-Toa dodged quicker than Tusval could follow. Vahna charged at him, hands ablaze, dodging under his mace, and fired a blast of light at his legs. A wall of stone formed around them and then quickly disintegrated as Vahna's attack hit them. The Toa leapt away from them Tusval was starting to get frustrated. How was this Toa evading all their attacks, and still attacking, against three Toa? It made no sense. Orokul and Vahna then both attacked, with Vahna blinding the Toa with her light powers and Orokul tackling him. The strange toa went down, dropping his hammer as he did so. Dazed, he tried to sit up and keep fighting, but Vahna’s mask began glowing and glowing green chains encircled his whole body. Vahna, seeing Tusval’s awed gaze, grinned at him. “Kanohi Ganeth” she said “Mask of Energy Manipulation. Pretty cool, huh?” Before Tusval could reply, Orokul interrupted. “Vahna, Go with Tusval and find the rest of our team” Tusval glanced to his sides to notice that the rest of his team was no longer in the now decimated building. Vahna darted out of the building, and Tusval followed. They had only gone a few bio when they spotted Luoya, Oto, and Zasere walking dejectedly back towards them. The two Toa slowed their pace, but continued walking towards them. When they eventually met, they didn’t even have to ask what happened before Oto dejectedly informed them “She ran away, and got picked up by some bulky green dude, we didn’t get a good look at him, and they flew away. Probably had a Mask of Flight or something.” “Ah…” Vahna replied. They walked back to where Orokul was waiting. He had evidently wrapped the captured Toa in sheets of metal (The green chains were gone), and Luoya optimistically proclaimed “Well, at least we got the other guy!”. No one else said anything, preferring not to share in her optimism. Orokul opened up another spiraling portal, and they stepped through, back to the Toa Fortress Chapter 3 To be added... Trivia * Windfall would greatly appreciate being notified of any improvements, comments, questions, or discrepancies to improve his story * This version of the story actually holds the prestigious title of the first piece of writing Windfall has ever written outside of academics, and as such, should be considered a rough draft, and is subject to heavy revision.